Could Take-Two Take a Second Run at Codemasters?
It may not be game over for Take-Two Interactive’s (TTWO) - Get Report bid for Codemasters Group.
New York-based Take-Two's bid has been topped by rival game maker Electronic Arts (EA) - Get Report, which on Monday said it agreed to pay $1.2 billion for the London-based maker of racing video games.
Electronic Arts said it will pay Codemasters shareholders 604 pence ($7.98) in cash for each ordinary share, higher than Take-Two's offer in November that valued Codemasters at about 528 pence a share.
However, Electronic Arts' rival bid could spark a counter-offer from Take-Two. The popular Formula 1 racing franchise maker’s initial cash and stock bid for Codemasters in early November was seen as a lowball compared to Codemasters' publicly traded peers. It also ended up being at a discount, given Codemasters' fluctuating stock price.
At the same time, analysts have viewed Take-Two as a strategically strong fit for Codemasters, which lacks the franchises and also technology sharing capabilities that have made Take-Two games like "Grand Theft Auto" and "NBA 2K" successful.
Codemasters is the developer behind racing games like "Project Cars," "DiRT," annual F1 games and "GRID."
